Tracy Morgan and Scott Hallock talk Scare Tactics
Tracy Morgan is a busy man. Along with his role on the NBC comedy 30 Rock, now entering its third season, Tracy is also taking on the reigns of host of the SciFi Channel program Scare Tactics, also in its third season. Premiering on July 9th, Scare Tactics is a hidden-camera, reality-comedy hybrid that allows friends and loved ones to set up unsuspecting victims into a series of horror hoaxes that are staged with movie-style special effects and makeup.
Earlier this week, Tracy, who is the third host of the program after Shannen Doherty and Stephen Baldwin hosted the first two seasons, joined Tactics’ Executive Producer Scott Hallock on a conference call to talk about this upcoming season.
How did Tracy get involved with the series?: Tracy has been a fan of Scare Tactics since the show began. He sites his favorite episode of the series as one involving a wood chipper because it was one of the most honest reactions someone would have to that particular horror. Tracy said that once the reveal was made to the victim it was like watching him breathe in a gulp of fresh air.
Tracy was excited when the producers of Scare Tactics asked him to host the show … it allowed him to do his own rendition of Rod Sterling. As host, Tracy gets to watch others be pranked rather than having others prank on him. And, because the victims don’t see the pranks coming it makes Tactics funny.
How did the show’s premise come about?: According to Scott Hallock, Scare Tactics came about while he was working on the NBC hidden-camera series Spy TV. The concept they came up with was similar to Spy, but infused with horror. As Hallock put it, he wanted to have a show that featured four mini-horror movie segments, complete with special effects and makeup.
Why mix horror and comedy?: Comedy and horror are really close, said Hallock, which made them a perfect match for the show. The program doesn’t go for the meanness factor when it comes to pranking the victims. When things are getting a bit too serious the reveal is made to lighten things up a bit.
How do they maximize safety on the show so no one really gets hurt?: “We take safety really seriously on our sets,” said Hallock. “When the bit is at its height is when we do the reveal.” The Tactics’ producer added that they sweep the area for anything that could be used as a weapon prior to the beginning of the prank. If it looks like the victim is ready to fight, then the reveal is made immediately.
Has anyone not signed the release form to air their segment?: It is very rare that someone decides not to sign the waiver, said Hallock. This season everyone signed the release notices. The only time that someone didn’t sign a release notice was when they were running for office and feared that airing their segment on the show would hurt his chances in the polls.
What makes a good victim: According to Hallock, a good victim is one who is expressive, who will react, get involved in the story and say what is on their mind. Also entertaining are those who take the leadership roles during these scary moments. As an example of a good victim, Hallock mentioned the victim from the this season’s premiere of Scare Tactics. “It was the greatest reaction I have ever seen,” said the show’s producer.
The crew for Scare Tactics: Hallock mentioned that Scare Tactics has one of the larger staffs for a reality-based program. More than 60 people. This doesn’t include the makeup and special effects personnel that are hired for many of the segments. The amount of people are integral in making Scare Tactics the big, cinematic show it is, said Hallock.
Have there been any complicated bits or bits that haven’t gotten on the air?: Hallock said the most complicated bit was the season three premiere “Satan’s Baby.” That’s because you needed the victim to believe that someone was giving birth to a 28-inch spawn of Satan. Hallock and his team have been very lucky that they have had little resistance to their ideas for the show. If anything, ideas have been pulled back if Hallock and his team didn’t think they would work out. Despite that luck, the show is still a bit of a hassle for the network’s legal department. Said Hallock, “The legal department…that’s another story. This is a very scary show for lawyers.”
Do family members ever contribute to prank ideas?: The writers will pass ideas to the family and friends to see if it will work for the victim. They will also take suggestions from friends and family as well. However, they won’t take an idea that will be harmful to the victim. In the example Hallock gave, if the victim is deathly afraid of spiders, they will not put him or her in a room full of them.
Last but not least…
What should Tracy’s prank be if he was a victim on Scare Tactics: The IRS coming to his house to collect taxes.
Vern Yip comes back for round three of Deserving Design
Designer and architect Vern Yip is back for a third season of HGTV’s Deserving Design. The series will continue to focus on people with touching stories who are in need of some renovation assistance. Stories of this season include a couple who has taken in over sixty foster children (they get a much-needed new family room), a young woman diagnose with advanced breast cancer who needs some design assistance with her condo, and an eco-conscious couple who are in need of Vern’s expertise.
I’m excited this show is back for a third season. I loved Vern Yip’s designs when he was on Trading Spaces. He always did affordable, modern, and clean-looking updates to the participants’ homes. Plus this show isn’t as flashy as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. And there’s no Ty Pennington screaming at you.
The new season starts tonight at 9 p.m. ET on HGTV. Will you be tuning in?
James and Dule talk Psych
Psych is coming back! Starting on July 18th, the comedy starring James Roday and Dule Hill will be returning to USA Network with all new episodes. The third season of this series looks to be a very interesting one, as viewers will finally get to meet Shawn Spencer’s long-lost mother as well as get to see a more dramatic side of the character … something we got a taste of during the last few episodes of last season.
The two stars of Psych got together with the press last week to touch on a number of subjects. Topics included a preview of the upcoming season, a discussion about the duo’s “Ebony & Ivory” commercial, Roday’s appearance on the NBC anthology Fear Itself, and the never-ending 1980s references that the two spout during each episode.
The “Ebony & Ivory” promotion for Psych: Doing the promo was a lot of fun, according to Dule Hill, who plays Burton ’Gus’ Guster on the show. They had very little time to memorize the song before shooting began, perhaps maybe fifteen minutes. Once the shoot began, Hill didn’t realize that the Stevie Wonder portion of the song was so high.
For James Roday, who plays Shawn Spencer on the show, his main concern was that they were going to be making fun of these two rock icons. However, after he and Hill watched the original video, they realized that they were just emulating what McCartney did on the video rather than mocking it. And, for the record, the song still lingers in their memories since the shooting ended.
Cybill Shepherd: Roday says Cybill Sheppard, who will portray Shawn’s mother in the season three premiere and will have a recurring role this season, was very professional and happy to be on the set with them. James was also impressed that Shepherd was able to anchor the episode in a dramatic way when she came in and really didn’t know anybody on the set. According to James, Sheppard stepped up, had fun, and accomplished what needed to be done in the opening scene.
The upcoming season: “Our self-imposed mandate for this season was 20% more of everything”, said Roday. “So, you’re going to get 20% more action, 20% more comedy, 20% more drama, 20% more emotional grounding.” James continued by saying that viewers will be seeing a few new layers peeled back on Shawn’s character that will reveal a bit more about his family history. He will also be more serious, especially during the season premiere.
In terms of episode conten,t there will be one that features more stunts than all of the other episodes combined, and another, directed by James himself, that will pay tribute to the Friday the 13th series of films. As to guest stars, in addition to the before mentioned Cybill Sheppard as Shawn’s mother, and Steven Weber as Shawn’s uncle, actors Rachael Leigh Cook, Ted Lange, Jeff Fahey, Gary Cole, and Christopher McDonald will also make appearances.
Shawn and Henry: When asked about Shawn and Henry Spencer’s relationship this season, Roday said that the appearance of Shawn’s mother will shine a new light on the their past and reveal that some truths may not be as accurate as he once thought. After that, the two will take their relationship one day at a time. James thinks that he and his father (played by Corbin Bernsen) will still have their problems, but they will be moving towards a mutual understanding of each other.
Will Gus’s parents be returning this season?: Hill doesn’t know if Ernie Hudson and Phylicia Rashad will be returning as Gus’s parents this season. However, there is a chance that viewers will be meeting one or two of his siblings this year.
Fears of messing with the current format of the show: When asked if there was a little fear when it came to some of the new stuff coming up this season, Hill believed that there wasn’t much. “I think with any long-running TV show, you have to continue to challenge yourself to improve on what you’ve done,” said Dule. “Otherwise, you’ll get stale.” Hill added that these changes were the only way to keep the show exciting for the audience as well as the actors.
The’ 80s references: The writers definitely add their own references, said Roday. But, he added, by the time it reaches him and Hill they have some additional ’80s references to throw in as well. In the end, they end up with a good mix of everyone’s favorite references. James concluded by saying that there is a bounty of ’80s references still available and they won’t be drying up any time soon.
Improvising Gus and Shawn’s conversations on Psych: While the shooting schedule is very intense, both Roday and Hill do have leeway as to how much improvisation goes into their dialogue. Roday says that this spontaneity is something that the fans appreciate and, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. They will continue to take what is written on the script and mold it into the flavor that fans have come to expect of the show.
Shawn’s flirtation with Jules (Maggie Lawson): The continued flirtation between Shawn and Santa Barbara Police Detective Juliet O’Hara will still remain a part of the show. They’ll continue to dangle the question of “will they or won’t they” in front of viewers until the cast gets too uncomfortable with it. At that point they’ll pull back and see what happens.
Roday and Lawson on Fear Itself: “Fear Itself was just sort of a fun little gag that we did because John Landis directed it and he’s worked with us a couple times on Psych,” said Roday. “And, it was sort of an opportunity to do something that was very, very different than what we do on the show but still with John.” Roday added that the roles that he and Lawson played on Fear were as far from Shawn and Jules as you could go from these characters.
Dule moving from The West Wing to Psych: For Hill, it was a great change of pace. “After being in the White House and working on the drama for seven years, I didn’t really want to go do another drama. And Psych was exactly what I had wanted to do.”
Any crossover opportunities with other USA shows?: Hill certainly hopes so. He mentioned that their have been talks about crossing over with Monk, but there is nothing set in concrete yet. Roday added that Monk would be the obvious companion for them since both private investigators are based in the same state.
Finally,
Will the pineapple be showing up this season on Psych?: A resounding “absolutely” from both actors, with Hill adding, “We love our pineapple.”
Heroes Season Three Set Photos!
TheBadandUgly.com have posted some new and potentially spoileriffic images from the set of the third season of Heroes. The images show Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) and Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet) looking rather…different. They also have a set report about how the season starts and an interesting painting of Earth, which again contains spoilers.
Click on the image below to get all the info!
